Used 2023 Chevrolet Suburban

The 2023 Suburban could be the ultimate road trip vehicle. It will haul a family in comfort, plus their luggage and their boat. Or any other troupe of like-minded people, perhaps taking their music to the masses or Shakespeare to rural communities.

Chevrolet calls it the Suburban because it’s about the size of a small suburb, almost qualifying for its own ZIP code? No, but it might seem that way. Anything bigger than this would be a van or a bus.

A fresh generation of Suburban debuted only two years ago, so the tech remains contemporary. It’s a specialized and special full-size SUV.

The closely related 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe has its own review.

Maybe it’s called the Suburban because it’s as comfortable as life in the suburbs. Noise, vibration, and harshness are distant neighborhoods.

Chances are any one of the three engines will please most people, although drivers living in hillier areas may prefer the gutsier of the two V8s. Or perhaps they might choose the diesel to acquire the same amount of thrust as the 6.2-liter V8 while achieving more miles per gallon.

The 2023 Suburban SUV is capable of providing ideal transport for a large family — whether that’s blood relations or any other group of people all heading for the same place. Comfort levels go up a notch or three with Magnetic Ride Control, which is offered in the RST and Z71 or standard in the Premier and High Country trims. And they go higher still with an adaptive air suspension that’s optional with the Z71 and standard in the High Country.

On the subject of the 4-wheel-drive Z71 and that air suspension, this combination has the best ground clearance: 10 inches, as opposed to the rest of the lineup’s 8 inches. This trim also has some extra under-body protection — just in case some people might want to head away from the pavement.

This year’s big news is the availability of Super Cruise in the Premier and High Country variants. This is a hands-free driving feature that you can activate on certain highways. However, the global chip shortage means it might take until later in the year to come on board.

A full complement in a 2023 Chevy Suburban could be as many as nine passengers. The LS trim has an optional 3-person bench seat for the front row. Most trims have an 8-seater setup, though, which drops to seven with a pair of captain’s chairs installed in the second row.

The Suburban is based on the full-size Chevy Tahoe SUV, with a wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) extended by just over 12 inches. This results in generous legroom for occupants in all three rows, plus more cargo space than the Tahoe.

Legroom in the second row measures an expansive 42 inches (the same as the Tahoe), with third-row passengers enjoying 36.7 inches, almost 3 inches more than the Tahoe. And a 2023 Suburban can hold the luggage of nine people. Behind the 60/40 split/folding third row is an area of 41.5 cubic feet — the space a couple of fridge/freezers might take up.

With the second and third rows folded, there’s 144.7 cubic feet of cargo volume. It kind of makes you want to shout “Hello” and listen for the echo.

A new option for the 2023 Suburban SUV is a black grille with the word Chevrolet emblazoned across it in upper-case letters. This is available on the LS, LT, RST, and Premier trims.

The palette of exterior paint choices also expands this year to include Radiant Red Tintcoat, Sterling Gray Metallic, and Silver Sage Metallic.

With its wide, open cabin, this SUV is best suited to wide, open spaces. Not tight little city streets. It’s 15 inches longer overall than the Tahoe. That makes it 18.8 feet long. It’s a good thing that front and rear parking sensors come fitted as standard.

INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM
The ideal choice would be the 10.2-inch touchscreen in the LT and above, rather than the smaller version in the base LS. But the system itself is really easy to use and includes wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration as standard.

SUPER CRUISE
The driver’s eyes must always be engaged, but the hands and feet can relax when Super Cruise is doing its thing. It works on specific roads that the navigation system recognizes. More highways are being added, with at least 100,000 miles mapped so far. What might be surprising is how easy it is for Super Cruise to become a regular and trusted part of the driving experience.

Considering the whole point of a 2023 Suburban full-size SUV is to transport many people, then we would have appreciated a few more driver assistance features fitted as standard equipment. But the base LS still packs quite a lot into its immodest dimensions.

It comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry/ignition, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power-adjustable front seats, 3-zone automatic climate control, and two 120-volt outlets.

An 8-inch touchscreen controls an infotainment system that includes wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Wi-Fi, satellite radio, Bluetooth, five USB-A ports, and one USB-C port.

The driver aids that do come as standard are forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assistance, automatic high beams, and a following-distance indicator.

Going up through the trim levels — which are LT, RST, Z71, Premier, and High Country — brings features like a heated and power-adjustable steering wheel, memory settings for that and the driver’s seat, 10.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, Bose audio systems, perforated leather seating surfaces, heated/ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, panoramic sunroof, power-adjustable center console, bigger alloy wheels, 12.3-inch driver information display, trailering package, blind-spot monitoring, 360-degree camera system, head-up display, adaptive suspensions, and Super Cruise.

Some of these are standard in the higher trims and optional in the more affordable models. Some, like adaptive cruise control, are only optional at a pricier trim level.

The standard engine in the 2023 Suburban full-size SUV lineup is a 5.3-liter V8 making 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque from a diet of regular gasoline. The exception is the High Country model, which comes with a 6.2-liter V8 generating 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, and using premium gasoline.

This larger V8 is also optional in the RST, Z71, and Premier trims. Another alternative across the range — not including the Z71 — is a turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel inline-6 developing the same torque output as the 6.2-liter V8, along with 277 horsepower.

Regardless of engine, every variant gets a 10-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is the usual setup. A 4-wheel-drive system with a transfer case for low-range gearing is standard in the Z71, optional elsewhere.

5.3-liter V8
355 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
383 lb-ft of torque @ 4,100 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 15/20 mpg (RWD), 15/19 mpg (4WD)

6.2-liter V8
420 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
460 lb-ft of torque @ 4,100 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 14/20 mpg (RWD), 14/18 mpg (4WD)

3.0-liter turbocharged diesel inline-6
277 horsepower @ 3,750 rpm
460 lb-ft of torque @ 1,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 21/27 mpg (RWD), 20/26 mpg (4WD)